Bunge & Viterra Close Merger, Form Global Agribusiness Powerhouse

Bunge Global SA BG announced that it closed its previously stated merger with Viterra Limited. This combination forms a global agribusiness company, positioned to meet market demands and deliver enhanced value to farmers and customers worldwide.Details on Bunge-Viterra DealThe merger was announced in June 2023 and was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Bunge and Viterra. In October 2023, Bunge’s shareholders approved the merger. The shareholders had also approved the issuance of 65,611,831 common shares, par value of 1 cent per share of Bunge. The deal faced several setbacks, including regulatory challenges and concerns over competition in the global market, resulting in delays.The merged entity will boast an enhanced global network with a diversified agriculture network covering all major crops. The combination of both companies’ highly complementary asset footprints and distribution networks will connect the world’s largest production regions to areas of the fastest-growing demand. This will enhance the geographical balance and adaptability of the global value chains. A diversified global mix of earnings across processing, handling and merchandising and value-added products will lead to solid cash flow generation.Along with increasing operational efficiency, the combination will further enhance Bunge’s innovation know-how. This will equip the company to address the pressing needs of food security, efficiency for end-customers, market access for farmers and sustainable food, feed and renewable fuel production.The combination is expected to benefit from significant incremental network synergies across joint commercial excellence opportunities, vertical integration efficiencies, and improved logistics optimization and trading optionality from a larger and broader network.The merger is expected to lead to $250 million in annual gross pre-tax operational synergies in the first three years. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Bunge’s adjusted earnings per share in the first full year post closing. It is anticipated to improve with the realization of synergies.BG Stock’s Price PerformanceShares of Bunge have lost 23.1% over the past year compared with the industry's 9.6% decline.  Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Bunge’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderBG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, SSR Mining Inc. SSRM and ATI Inc. ATI. These three companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.Carpenter Technology has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’ 2025 earnings is pegged at $7.20 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 51.9%. Carpenter Technology shares have skyrocketed 111% last year.SSR Mining has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 58.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SSRM’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $1.14 per share, implying year-over-year growth of 307%. SSR Mining stock has surged 88.6% last year.ATI has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.54%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $3.01 per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 22.4%. ATI shares have jumped 54% last year.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ATI Inc. (ATI): Free Stock Analysis Report Bunge Global SA (BG): Free Stock Analysis Report Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS): Free Stock Analysis Report Silver Standard Resources Inc. (SSRM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks